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Technology Stocks : Phoenix Technologies (PTEC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Amy Feller who wrote (3057)	1/17/1999 4:13:00 PM
From: Chinacat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3624

Well said, Amy! I commend the energy that Amy put into her well articulated and courteous response. It has been mentioned several times before that Mr Brophy is not the kindest with words. Mr Brophy has been exorcised from other threads (e.g. WIND) before. It may be Mr Brophy's contest, but this isn't "his" thread, and he should stop acting as though it is. Although I like the idea of a contest, I don't like the aggravation and behaviour that comes with nominating entries. I have already shifted the responsibility of qualifying the picks to the contest's owner, i.e. Mr Brophy.

To: Amy Feller who wrote (3057)	1/17/1999 4:25:00 PM
From: Chinacat	Respond to of 3624

techstocks.com

To: Amy Feller who wrote (3057)	1/17/1999 4:29:00 PM
From: Chinacat	Respond to of 3624

techstocks.com

To: Amy Feller who wrote (3057)	1/18/1999 10:42:00 AM
From: Mark Brophy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3624

Avant! and Ciena are entered in the contest. You refuse to redeploy any cash from high P/E growth stocks to low P/E value stocks, so I disagree that it's unfair to say that you've changed your investment philosophy. Next year, I'm going to add a rule to the contest requiring contestants to own the stocks they recommend. Why should anyone else risk their money when you refuse to accept your own advice? Avante! is in the middle of an ugly criminal and civil lawsuit with CDN. CDN says AVNT stole software code from it's product line, however recent indications are there might be a settlement. I have some personal knowledge of a similar ugly lawsuit involving criminal charges that Santa Cruz County brought on behalf of Borland against Gene Wang, a former executive who left to join Symantec, a competitor in C++ compilers. A reviewer of a Gene Wang book at wdj.com states: Gene Wang (currently of Symantec) was an important manager who departed under a cloud during the long fall of the House of Kahn. His story included accusations, counter-accusations, search warrants, police confessions, lawsuits -- he was the Silicon Valley O.J. of his time. Wang was in charge of languages development at Borland in 1988-1992 and his group displaced the entrenched leader, Microsoft, in C++ compiler sales (Gates isn't invincible!). Symantec was impressed and hired him to displace his former employer, Borland. Symantec was the first C++ compiler vendor to support Java, but Microsoft regained the market. Philippe Kahn convinced the Santa Cruz D.A. to bring criminal charges because Kahn was insulted personally and professionally that Wang would leave him. Like the First Philanderer, Kahn liked to play sax (and cut CDs with company money, which helped lead him towards his impeachment at Borland) and Wang was one of his band mates. There was no case and the D.A. dropped it 4 ½ years later in 1997. See "Borland, Symantec settle trade secrets dispute" at www5.zdnet.com. If Borland had been smart, they would've fired Philippe Kahn and made Gene Wang the CEO. Wang's name is mud (unjustly) and he joined his younger brother's company, Computer Motion, in 1996. He probably didn't have many other career opportunities before Borland dropped the vendetta a year later after they finally ousted Kahn. Computer Motion makes robotic instruments used in minimally invasive endoscopic surgery, which doesn't seem like an ideal fit for a C++ expert. Computer Motion went public in August 1997 at 14 and the price today is 11 ¼. The IPO prospectus is at sec.gov. Gene Wang has been Chief Executive Officer, President and a Director of the Company since January 1996. Mr. Wang served as Executive Vice President at Symantec Corporation from 1992 to 1995 and served as Vice President and General Manager of the Languages Business Unit of Borland International from 1988 to 1992. Gene Wang is the brother of Yulun Wang. Yulun Wang, Ph.D., has been Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of the Company since January 1996 and a Director since 1990 and has served in numerous other capacities since he founded the Company in 1989. Prior to founding the Company, Dr. Wang had been the principal investigator on research and development contracts and grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA")/Jet Propulsion Laboratories, NASA/Langley, National Institutes of Health and the United States Navy. Yulun Wang is the brother of Gene Wang. Gene Wang resigned as CEO 2 months after they went public (http://www.computermotion.com/pressr19.html). Mr. Wang stated, "I am pleased with the many accomplishments of Computer Motion while I was CEO. The hard reality is that I believe the Company would be best served by a leader with long term industry specific knowledge in medical devices and operating room environments, as well as strong relationships with surgeons and high level hospital administrators. By making room for such a person, I believe I will be making a significant contribution to the future of Computer Motion as it brings the power of computers and robotics to the operating room." Mr. Duggan said, "Gene Wang is an executive embodied with tremendous energy and insight. He has demonstrated time and again his ability to make tough decisions. All of our shareholders owe Gene a huge debt of gratitude for his contribution to the Company. We wish him extraordinary prosperity in his next endeavor and have no doubt he will continue to be successful." Mr. Duggan will temporarily assume the responsibilities of President and Chief Executive Officer as the Company seeks a successor to Mr. Wang. Everyone should have a brother like Yulum Wang who can bail you out when you're being relentlessly attacked by mean-spirited folks like Philippe Kahn and the Santa Cruz D.A.!